BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-02-20DOI: 10.1111/btp.70008
Jorge A. Lobo, Edson J. Cristóbal-Pérez, María M. Chavarría, Mauricio Quesada
{"title":"Patterns of Intrafruit Seed Abortion and Variation in Seed Mass of the Guanacaste Tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum, Fabaceae) in Populations From Mexico and Costa Rica","authors":"Jorge A. Lobo, Edson J. Cristóbal-Pérez, María M. Chavarría, Mauricio Quesada","doi":"10.1111/btp.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Analyses of the variation in the abortion rate and mass of seeds of tropical trees are scarce, despite their importance in modulating seed production, plant recruitment, and herbivore foraging patterns. We studied these reproductive processes in a tropical dry forest tree species. We studied the patterns of intrafruit abortion and seed mass in fruits of the Guanacaste tree, <i>Enterolobium cyclocarpum</i>, in samples of trees from 5 populations in Mexico and Costa Rica. We analyzed the effects of developmental phase, fruit and maternal tree effects, and seed position within the fruit on the abortion rate and mass of seeds from mature and immature fruits. Naturally pollinated flowers were studied to determine the patterns of ovule fertilization within the ovaries. Overdispersion of the abortion rate per fruit within trees and a higher frequency of abortions in the extreme positions of the fruit were common patterns in all populations. These patterns were observed from the beginning of fruit formation. Ovules in the stylar position do not have higher survival rates, despite their precedence in fertilization. A negative relationship was found between abortion events and seed mass. Fruit-specific fertilization and developmental conditions seem to be the main factors driving the fruit abortion rate and seed mass, causing high variability in seed survival and mass within maternal trees. The correlation between the fruit abortion rate and seed mass may be related to the capacity of the fruit to drain maternal resources. These patterns are common to all studied Guanacaste tree populations.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143447081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-02-06DOI: 10.1111/btp.70009
Brian M. Griffiths, Jared Stabach, Joseph Kolowski
{"title":"Perceived Predation Risk Affects Mammal Behavior at Amazonian Mineral Licks","authors":"Brian M. Griffiths, Jared Stabach, Joseph Kolowski","doi":"10.1111/btp.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Mineral licks are critical resources for herbivores in Amazonia and other tropical regions which may be deficient in dietary minerals or consuming alkaloid-laced leaves which may cause gastrointestinal issues. However, mineral licks are also important locations for predators, including human hunters. Animals visiting mineral licks must balance the benefits of relief of physiological stressors with the risk of predation, and they may employ behavioral adaptations to do so. We used camera trap data on six large-bodied mammal species at 52 mineral licks in the same watershed in the Peruvian Amazon to assess how mineral licks contribute to visiting species' perception of risk. We tested the effects of a range of covariates including direct and indirect measures of risk, habitat characteristics, and soil properties on visit duration, a behavioral adaptation species may use to mitigate risk, in a generalized linear mixed-effects modeling framework. Tapirs, collared peccaries, and paca minimized visit duration in risky licks, while howler monkeys, red brocket deer, and black agoutis had higher visit duration in risky licks, potentially due to increased vigilance and reduced feeding efficiency. The strong relationships between risk and behavior across species demonstrates the ecological value of mineral licks for both predators and prey, as prey must seek mineral licks but at great cost. Conserving mineral licks in landscapes may be a critical component to the conservation of both herbivores and carnivores in Amazonia, and for food security of local people.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143248893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-02-06DOI: 10.1111/btp.70004
Emma J. M. Bretherick, Juan M. Dupuy, Felipe García-Oliva, Anaitzi Rivero Villar, Julieta A. Rosell, Julio Campo
{"title":"Nitrogen and Phosphorus Allocation Strategies in a Chronosequence of Tropical Dry Forests: Plant Coordination and Environmental Drivers","authors":"Emma J. M. Bretherick, Juan M. Dupuy, Felipe García-Oliva, Anaitzi Rivero Villar, Julieta A. Rosell, Julio Campo","doi":"10.1111/btp.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Identifying how limited resources, such as nutrients, are allocated across plant organs can provide new insights into ecophysiological strategies, as well as ecosystem nutrient cycles. Plants may allocate different nutrients within a specific organ or the same nutrient among different organs. In this study, we explored the allocation strategies of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the leaves, stems, and roots of nine dominant tree species in secondary tropical dry forests using scaling analysis. The results showing that N and P have different scaling relationships within and among plant organs. The scaling relationships of P versus N concentrations in non-leaf organs were isometric across secondary succession and shifted in leaves from allometric (P concentration increased faster than N concentration) to isometric. The scaling relationships of N or P concentrations between metabolic (leaves vs. fine roots) or between structural (stems vs. coarse roots) plant organs tended to be isometric along succession. Whilst the scaling relationships of the same nutrient between metabolic versus structural plant organs tended to be allometric (N and P concentrations increased faster in woody organs than in metabolic organs) across succession. A principal component analysis suggests associations of nutrient allocation to woody organs with soil pH over the chronosequence and with vegetation structure and soil nutrient availability in the case of metabolic organs. These findings on the sensitivity in plant nutrient allocation to changes in soil and vegetation properties during secondary succession may have practical implications for carbon sequestration management and models and restoration of this threatened ecosystem.</p>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/btp.70004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143248892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-02-05DOI: 10.1111/btp.13424
Renan de Souza Rezende, Marcelo da Silva Moretti, Emanuel Rampanelli Cararo, Walace Pandolpho Kiffer, Larissa Corteletti da Costa, Alan M. Tonin, José Francisco Gonçalves Junior
{"title":"The Influence of Litter Diversity on Leaf Breakdown and the Colonization of Decomposer Communities in Subtropical Highland Grassland Streams","authors":"Renan de Souza Rezende, Marcelo da Silva Moretti, Emanuel Rampanelli Cararo, Walace Pandolpho Kiffer, Larissa Corteletti da Costa, Alan M. Tonin, José Francisco Gonçalves Junior","doi":"10.1111/btp.13424","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13424","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Litter diversity can enhance leaf breakdown through selective effects when driven by a particular species or specific leaf chemical characteristics. We analyzed the influence of leaf mixtures on leaf breakdown and associated decomposers in a highland grassland stream that receives low-diversity leaf inputs. We incubated leaves of <i>Ocotea diospyrifolia</i>, <i>Nectandra megapotamica</i>, <i>Myrcia eugenioides</i>, and <i>Miconia flammea</i> in coarse mesh litter bags containing a leaf mixture of the four species, as well as leaves of each species in single treatments (6 streams × 3 replicates × 5 treatments = 90 sampling units). We found that leaves in single treatments had higher breakdown rates than the mixed treatment, suggesting that increased litter diversity did not positively influence leaf breakdown in highland grassland streams. Adaptations of decomposer assemblages to poorly structured riparian vegetation may have outweighed the potential effects of litter diversity. We found higher importance of leaf quality, measured by nutrient content, in driving leaf breakdown, with the effect of litter diversity on leaf breakdown rates depending on individual leaf chemical characteristics. Despite the lack of litter diversity positive effects on breakdown rates, the mixture treatment showed higher diversity of fungi and invertebrate decomposers. The leaf mixture may have increased habitat structure but reduced the number of individuals due to increased resource heterogeneity, favoring specialists. Functional feeding groups exhibited the expected patterns for their feeding strategies, with shredders benefiting from litter diversity and scrapers preferring single leaf treatments. Overall, riparian vegetation diversity was not crucial for organic matter processing but positively influenced decomposer diversity.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143248522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-01-31DOI: 10.1111/btp.70006
Leah Genth, Margaret R. Metz, Renato Valencia, Simon A. Queenborough
{"title":"Standing Herbivory Is Not Affected by Tree Sex or Conspecific Density in a Dioecious Understory Tropical Tree Species","authors":"Leah Genth, Margaret R. Metz, Renato Valencia, Simon A. Queenborough","doi":"10.1111/btp.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70006","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Leaves are critical to plant photosynthesis and the loss of leaf area can have negative consequences for an individual's performance and fitness. Variation in plant defenses plays a large role in protecting their leaves from attack by insect herbivores. However, trade-offs in allocation among growth, reproduction, and defense may limit the availability of resources for any one aspect of a plant's life-history strategy, which would lead to greater herbivory in those plants that allocate more resources to growth or reproduction than to defense. Patterns of sex-biased herbivory in dioecious plants are well documented yet are known to vary in the direction (female or male) of their bias. A greater concentration of conspecifics may also increase herbivore attack through negative density dependence. In order to test the hypothesis that sex-biased herbivory varies as a function of conspecific density, we measured standing herbivory on 2350 leaves on 302 trees of the dioecious understory tree <i>Iryanthera hostmannii</i> (Myristicaceae) situated in a large forest dynamics plot in a lowland tropical rain forest in Ecuador. We found no difference in standing herbivory between the 169 male and 133 female trees, nor for focal trees surrounded by higher densities of conspecifics. The slow-growing, shade-tolerant growth patterns of <i>I. hostmannii</i> may contribute to suppressed differential expression of secondary sex characters in leaf defenses, leading to similar levels of herbivory between males and females. Considering the factors that most strongly affect herbivory in dioecious species is important in understanding the evolution of sex-related traits more broadly.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-01-31DOI: 10.1111/btp.70005
Viviane Pagnussat Klein, Talitha Mayumi Francisco, Adriano Costa Quaresma, Maria Teresa Fernandez Piedade
{"title":"Structure of Epiphyte–Phorophyte Networks and Their Robustness to Species Loss in White-Sand Ecosystems in the Amazon","authors":"Viviane Pagnussat Klein, Talitha Mayumi Francisco, Adriano Costa Quaresma, Maria Teresa Fernandez Piedade","doi":"10.1111/btp.70005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70005","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Amazon is the world's largest tropical forest, has a great diversity of species, and provides essential ecosystem services. However, anthropic exploratory processes have intensified and are seriously influencing this biome. Approaches that are based on ecological network theory are an excellent tool for describing the structure of communities, interactions between species, and the stability of ecosystems. Using a specific set of network metrics; the first epiphyte–phorophyte commensal network for the fragile white-sand ecosystems of the central Amazon was created. The structure and organization of interactions were analyzed and described; we also tested the stability of the system to simulate species loss. A total of 725 interactions between 52 phorophyte species and 118 vascular epiphytes were recorded in the white-sand ecosystem (WSE). The epiphyte–phorophyte network exhibited a nested structure, with a low degree of specialization (<i>H</i><sub>2</sub>′), connectance, modularity, and robustness. When the elimination of highly connected phorophytes was simulated, secondary extinctions in epiphytes were high, which indicates low stability of the system when disturbances occur. The generalist phorophyte <i>Aldina heterophylla</i> was particularly important, interacting with 89.0% of the species and hosting 75.0% of the epiphytes. Our results indicate that the richness and abundance of vascular epiphytes in WSEs is concentrated in a few phorophytes species, especially in large trees. As such, removing this species from the system can disrupt interactions, change the network's structure, and unbalance the entire ecosystem.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1111/btp.70003
Brian M. Griffiths, David C. Luther, Henry S. Pollock
{"title":"Mineral Licks: An Overlooked Model System for Species Interactions","authors":"Brian M. Griffiths, David C. Luther, Henry S. Pollock","doi":"10.1111/btp.70003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70003","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Mineral licks are deposits of minerals, salts, and/or clays that attract animals and serve as keystone resources in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Previous research on natural mineral licks has focused largely on characterizing the soil properties of the licks and describing the species that consume the minerals. Yet mineral licks are also hubs of species interactions, where predators hunt prey, diseases are spread, and social information is transferred. Here, we argue that mineral licks are an overlooked model system with massive potential for both characterizing biodiversity and studying species interactions. We review the current state of knowledge and identify gaps related to predator–prey interactions, disease transfer, social information, and population dynamics and mineral licks. In each area, we propose future research directions, including how to leverage emerging technologies to more fully understand the ecology of mineral licks. We highlight that new conservation technologies may be particularly powerful in studying species at mineral licks, including telemetry and tracking, LiDAR, environmental DNA, and camera traps. We also note that experimental approaches to mineral licks are currently severely underutilized in ecosystems around the world and offer enormous potential in understanding species interactions in our four highlighted areas. This synthesis provides a framework for testing hypotheses about the ecological importance of mineral licks as a keystone resource and shifts the focus to include more emphasis on current knowledge gaps.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143118810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1111/btp.13415
Philip C Stouffer, Cameron L. Rutt
{"title":"Partial recovery of primary rainforest bird communities in Amazonian secondary forests","authors":"Philip C Stouffer, Cameron L. Rutt","doi":"10.1111/btp.13415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13415","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Loss of primary rainforest imperils species, communities, and ecosystem services. Secondary forests play a role in supporting primary forest species, making it important to assess how variation in landscape composition, sample area, and secondary forest age influence their value for maintaining biodiversity. We sampled bird communities in three 16-ha sites in 31-36-year-old secondary forest (SF) and three adjacent primary forest (PF) sites at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project near Manaus, Brazil. SF sites were surrounded by vast, minimally broken PF. Spot-map surveys revealed 204 species, with 48 found only in PF (SF estimate 117–144 species/site, PF estimate 163–180). SF communities were distinct, but composed almost entirely of PF species and overlapped PF communities in functional attributes. Cavity-nesting species were slightly underrepresented in SF. Important differences in SF included much reduced abundance of canopy, terrestrial, and insectivorous species. Vegetation structure may limit canopy species: SF had a homogeneous canopy of 20–25 m, >10 m lower than the heterogeneous PF canopy. Sensitivity of terrestrial insectivores conforms to an expected pattern, perhaps exacerbated by a lack of colonists for these regionally declining species. Relatively better recovery of midstory and understory species does not align with some studies, perhaps because our landscape facilitated their colonization. In this system, SF bird communities appear to be recovering, with frugivores, nectarivores, and granivores (including game species) already well matched to PF. Complete recovery may be slowed not just by SF habitat suitability, but also by demographic processes in PF that limit availability of colonists.</p><p>Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.</p>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143118781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1111/btp.70000
Naomi Schwartz, Jennifer S. Powers, Leland K. Werden, Winslow D. Hansen, Aing Chhengngunn, Luch Phem, Mia Fajeau, Chhang Phourin, Seab Kimsrim, Sokh Heng
{"title":"Seeing the Savanna Through the Trees: Vegetation Structure, Composition and Function Along a Forest-Savanna Boundary in Cambodia","authors":"Naomi Schwartz, Jennifer S. Powers, Leland K. Werden, Winslow D. Hansen, Aing Chhengngunn, Luch Phem, Mia Fajeau, Chhang Phourin, Seab Kimsrim, Sokh Heng","doi":"10.1111/btp.70000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70000","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In the seasonally dry landscapes of continental Southeast Asia, deciduous dipterocarp vegetation (DDF) and semi-evergreen forests (SEF) form patchy landscape mosaics, with abrupt boundaries between them. DDF resembles savanna, with an open canopy and a continuous grassy ground layer, while SEF lacks grass and has high tree cover and a closed canopy. Alternative hypotheses suggest that these distinct vegetation types are alternative stable states maintained by fire-vegetation feedbacks, that differences in edaphic conditions across landscapes explain their distributions, and/or that DDF are degraded or early successional forests whose distribution is determined by legacies of anthropogenic disturbance. Here, we compare structure, composition, and functional traits of woody vegetation across DDF-SEF boundaries, and ask whether differences across vegetation types are associated with edaphic factors or fire history. We found major differences in vegetation structure and species composition across DDF and SEF, with few shared species across vegetation types. Dominant DDF tree species were not found in SEF, suggesting that DDF represents a distinct vegetation community, rather than early successional or degraded forest. Compared to SEF species, DDF species had lower specific leaf area and higher bark thickness, a key trait associated with fire tolerance. Soil texture and fertility did not differ across vegetation types. Together, these findings suggest that fire, not edaphic factors, likely is the key driver of vegetation at DDF-SEF boundaries. Our results further support classifying and managing DDF as savanna. Conserving the unique biodiversity of DDF-SEF mosaic landscapes will require research to support evidence-based fire management.</p>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/btp.70000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143118811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BiotropicaPub Date : 2025-01-23DOI: 10.1111/btp.13400
Pedro Henrique Salomão Ganança, Clarissa Alves da Rosa, Albertina Pimentel Lima, Rafael de Fraga, Kelly Torralvo, Leandro Lacerda Giacomin, Amanda Frederico Mortati, Quêzia Leandro de Moura Guerreiro, Susan Aragón, William Ernest Magnusson
{"title":"Recovery of lizard assembages 10 years after reduced-impact logging in central-eastern Amazonia","authors":"Pedro Henrique Salomão Ganança, Clarissa Alves da Rosa, Albertina Pimentel Lima, Rafael de Fraga, Kelly Torralvo, Leandro Lacerda Giacomin, Amanda Frederico Mortati, Quêzia Leandro de Moura Guerreiro, Susan Aragón, William Ernest Magnusson","doi":"10.1111/btp.13400","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13400","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding changes in species composition due to human-induced habitat modification and environmental filtering is essential for formulating effective conservation strategies. Species turnover resulting from reduced-impact logging (RIL) is expected in the short term, generally with species adapted to open areas replacing those dependent on old-growth forest. However, little is known about how RIL activities influence assemblages after the perturbation ceased. We sampled lizards across an edaphic and vegetation-structure gradient in 64 plots in the Brazilian Amazon to test the hypothesis that changes in assemblage composition and proportion of heliothermic species are due to canopy openness resulting from ceased RIL activities and individual tree falls or to other environmental gradients. Contrary to expectations, canopy openness did not significantly affect the overall composition of lizard assemblages, but nearby unforested areas influenced assemblage composition, resulting in a higher proportion of heliothermic species. The composition of lizard assemblages was also significantly influenced by the distance to the nearest water body, vegetation height, and soil sand content. However, leaf litter height did not have a detectable impact on the composition of lizard assemblages. We conclude that short-term changes in species composition due to habitat modification by RIL do not persist in the long term after the perturbation ceases, and the assemblages may recover as vegetation regenerates. Although lizard species respond to spatial and temporal variation in environmental characteristics, we found evidence that lizard assemblages recover as reduced-impact logging (RIL) activities cease and vegetation regenerates.</p><p>Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.</p>","PeriodicalId":8982,"journal":{"name":"Biotropica","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143118479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}